Updates

I’ve updated most of the sections on this blog.

The single best piece of video game music ever composed.

You know what I’m talkin bout!

And people say video games cannot be / do not promote art!

Plus, this guy playing it is pretty good!  It seems like it would be pretty darn hard to play, I think the tempo changes like 4 different times.

I am confused.

I consider myself fairly savvy when ti comes to the confusing world of SOE new-release pre-orders but THIS has even ME baffled!

It SEEMS straightforward … but first ofall …

Why was it posted on the 27th if the pre-orders began on the 14th?

Secondly, … this bit from Kirstie and Kiara I just don’t get at all, in light of the above announcement:

Drash wrote:

Kirstie wrote:

All retail boxes, whether you tell the stores you want it before hand or go in and buy it from them/order it online on or after launch day will allow you to get a dire bear in-game.  There are no special codes, it is tied to you consuming the key in the box on your account.

Does this mean that I can purchase the retail box and use its key after having already preordered the digital download - allowing me, in effect,  to recieve both the dire bear mount and the shadow beast on the same account?

Yes.

SO … … are they “PRE-ORDER” items or NOT?  LOL  I mean good lord.

Thirdly.  I personally went to Best Buy today to locate a copy of the retail box to pre-order.  And let me tell you.  NO SUCH THING EXISTS AT BEST BUY.

Since every other company is more or less out of business when it comes to PC games, including the console-heavy GameStop, you would think SOE would be on the ball with the pre-order contracts.  Head of PR — get on the phone with the regional buyers for Best Buy!  Make those calls!

Of course in this challenging economy and in light of Best Buy’s total overhaul of their music, movies, and video games departments (FYI they hugely expanded console gaming and crushed everything else down, in a nutshell; they now carry 60% less CD stock, not a surprise considering CD’s will soon be considered as eccentric as vinyl) — it’s not surprising their buyers might not want to carry stock on a potentially dead title.

No offense SOE — you’ve got a great game but times are tough at retail …

… so maybe you oughta rethink your digital marketing campaign to better accomodate those of us who use that avenue (which is in every regard from a cost and logistics sense is patently better than a retail box, anyway, I might add.)

And finally -

What the heck does this bit mean:

“Qualified Living Legacy players who earned the Cloak of the Void and the $5.00 discount coupon off The Shadow Odyssey are expected to receive the coupon code via email on or around Nov. 3, 2008.”

Ummm … so … . . right.  Gotcha.

I think I keep myself pretty informed but I’ve seen nothing about a coupon or what qualifies a person as a “Living Legacy.”

BUELLER?

Shed some light, eh?

Edith Wharton’s Restored Home Facing Foreclosure

I know that this will seem an odd topic for me to be addressing, to those of you who have long been reading my blog, especially.  Double-strange to those who read my rants, or who know me in-game, or god-forbid, are members of my guild and have been treated to my strange sense of humor and sometimes-disturbing lack of discretion in language.

Setting all of that aside, this is something I feel is extremely important.

Edith Wharton is one of the 20th century’s greatest and most distinguished writers, and one of very few American female authors to have achieved a widespread fame during her lifetime and maintain a legacy in present day.  She was the first female author to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, author of numerous short stories and novellas, and many novels.  She was in her personal life an avid gardener and interior designer who believed that enrichment in life comes from all of those creative avenues, as well as her literary workings.  She is second only to Jane Austen in the influence of her body of work in mainstream pop-culture, today.  Her most popular novels, The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, have both been adapted in recent years to brilliant film by Martin Scorcese and Merchant-Ivory respectively; her novella Ethan Frome, also adapted to screen.  All three are popular titles on modern reading lists, for both academic and leisure reading.

As a testament to her passions, Edith designed and oversaw the building of her own house, and its attendant gardens, which she named “The Mount.”  I was astonished to learn, a few years ago, that The Mount was still standing in modern day — and was even being restored through the efforts of a non-profit restoration group.

Sadly, The Mount is now facing foreclosure.  So far, the group has raised $1.2 million out of a target of $3 million.

I am a passionate believer in the importance of learning history through studying and observing art.  Architecture is one of man’s greatest forms of art, amd it is extremely rare that there are homes from the Gilded Age which have the opportunity to be on display to the public and in such good condition.

Not only is knowledge passed through such avenues — but the other disciplines that come along with the pursuit of knowledge.  Fashion, music, appreciation for antiques – and the people who made such things, not least of all.  A part of our own society’s past.  That isn’t really even scraping the surface — people learn in such a myriad way that there’s no telling if a 7-year-old will grow up to be the next Frank Wright or Jim Henson or Martin Scorcese!

It’s strange, in our world of Perez Hiltons and Britney Spearses and Lindsay Lohans and our image-obsessed and ultimately gluttonous disposable society that we live in … it’s strange that an author could have written work more than 100 years ago that is still extremely relevant to the human heart and pertinent to so many people.

This is why, even in the face of Wharton’s great achievements — her contributions through her home and her literature are the REAL lasting legacy, and the ones that I feel it is so very important to preserve!  So that more people can be inspired by and learn from one of Edith’s own sources of inspiration.

Which is why I have decided to make my donation to save The Mount — and am passing it along to all of you – maybe a few of you share my passion, as well.

That link will take you to the website — which also is very interesting, informative, and very well-done.

And here is a snapshot — the site has a lot more pictures, all very beautiful.

Video Showcase No. 8: The Tower of the Drafling

Nestled in a serene riverbed in Rivervale, the exterior of the Drafling’s Tower appears to be nothing more than a simple structure of one room.  However, the bixies have taken over the interior and turned the former JumJum factory into a huge swarming hive.  The narrow, cramped tunnels wind and twist deep beneath Rivervale’s surrounding mountain range, filled with giant bees, bixie workers, and larvae.

This video didn’t turn out quite as I would have liked … the compression has made it a bit too dark, unfortunately, but at least it’s got a kickin soundtrack.

VIEW THE VIDEO IN HIGH DEF BROADBAND ON YOUTUBE

Lo def version:

New Screenshots

Taken at near-Extreme Quality.

Enjoy ~

Around the World in 80 Levels

There has recently been a lot of discussion about the impending experience gain increase to affect levels 20-70.  This will arrive in Update 49 and, according to a recent developer post, it will marginalize to about a 30% increase in gain speed, loosely speaking.

Here are my thoughts:

PROS:

• More players in the final tier of the game means more groups, more player interaction, and more immersion into the idea that is the MMO Experience.
• The prospect of faster leveling from 20-70 may encourage more people to create more alts, thereby increasing the potential to play and group with others at all tiers, not just the end-tier.
• It may encourage new players to join the game when they realize they are not going to have to spend 3 months to join afore-mentioned MMO Experience, which, in its truest form, is in the final tier.
• For people who do create alts, the dreaded notion of adventuring alone for weeks on end, slowly ticking up the levels while doing the SAME quest paths over and over, may become less of an obstacle to creating alts.  We all love that 1-20 experience … imagine having that kind of experience for 70 levels, rather than just 20.
• Content at all tiers will become more accessible when people are not forced to choose certain content simply because of its expedient and gratifying experience rewards — when all content benefits from a systemic reward increase, then all content becomes more attractive.

CONS:

• Players may rush through, missing much of the content and leaving zones more barren than before.
• Players may not properly understand the nuances of their class at level 80, not having spent the time to learn them, or to group, while leveling up.
• Grouping in dungeons may become less attractive if the time spent in solo play can prove equally or more beneficial than spending time in groups or grinding.  (I should note: this is not a new concern, and it will probably be an issue of debate in any MMO, at any time in its lifespan, from now until ever.)

I’m honestly hard-pressed to think of too many other downsides.

I am not one of those players who maintains an elitist attitude towards the time -I- spent playing the game.  I made my choice in 2005, and I played the game.  I am not going to use 4-year old hardships and tedium, as items of contention.  Much of that hardship and tedium, if not all of it, has been adjusted, removed, or otherwise alleviated — so that the game we have now is barely recognizable to the game in 2005, in terms of gameplay systems and the availability of amenities.

And let us not forget — who has asked for these changes, these so-called ’simplifications,’ over the years?

WE, the PLAYERS, have had just as much to do with the evolution of this game as any market force.  And likely far more.  WE directed it by posting our thoughts, criticisms, feedback, and praises on the forums, blogs, and various fansites.  WE supplied the positive re-inforcement by continuing to pay our subscriptions.  WE wrote the articles, voted in the polls, and spread the word.

Now WE have a great game.

Some veterans would like to say that SOE has catered to the WoW crowd.  No.  We created a game we love, and yes, it happens to coincide with the type of game that PEOPLE love — because guess what?  The people that play a game like WoW, all 8 million plus, are really people JUST like us!  They like the same kinds of great gameplay experiences that we do.

SOE is certainly a business at the end of the day — but video games are not like most other businesses, and MMO’s are certainly not like most other video games, even within that.  They are an industry unto themselves, with an entirely different mechanic, ethos, and code.  So certainly SOE is trying to better its business — and in doing so, they are trying to better the game, as any MMO must do in order to maintain and survive.  They have said, over and over and over, that with EQ2, they have listened to a lot of player feedback — and guess what?  This game is 100 times better now than it was in 2004.  And that has been widely recognized throughout the MMO world by players and critics alike.

So ultimately, although a person can hypothetically suppose a lot about what an increase in experience gain will do or will not do — in my opinion, as someone who’s been in the game since 2004 release and seen it go through just about every possible change and transformation — this is one more step in the RIGHT direction.